Bitcoin Magazine

Congress Schedules CLARITY Act Hearing for July 17 in New York

The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) for July 17 in New York. 

First introduced and House Financial Services Chairman French Hill on May 29, 2025, the CLARITY Act is the most significant attempt yet to build a durable regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States.

Its central mechanism is a jurisdictional division: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would receive exclusive authority over spot markets for “digital commodities” — most notably Bitcoin — while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retains jurisdiction over digital assets that qualify as investment contracts.

That split has been the source of years of industry frustration. Without clear lines, firms have faced overlapping enforcement from both agencies, chilling innovation and pushing development offshore. SEC and Treasury officials have urged Congress to resolve the standoff, and the CLARITY Act represents the most concrete vehicle to do so.

The bill has been building momentum through the 119th Congress. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act 15-9 on May 14, with all 13 Republicans joined by two Democrats — though several committee members noted their votes did not guarantee floor support without further work on an ethics provision addressing government officials’ financial ties to crypto assets. 

By June 1, the bill landed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders (Calendar No. 423), making it formally eligible for full Senate floor consideration.

The path forward isn’t without friction. The bill still needs to clear a 60-vote Senate threshold, be reconciled with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s version, and then be harmonized with the House-passed text before heading to the president’s desk. 

The House previously passed a motion to advance the CLARITY Act alongside the GENIUS Act and Anti-CBDC provisions, signaling broad legislative appetite for a package approach. 

More than 100 crypto firms have urged the Senate to advance the bill, and despite some early friction over developer liability language — Coinbase briefly threatened to withdraw support — the industry coalition has largely held together.

Galaxy Research currently estimates a 60–75% chance the bill becomes law in 2026, projecting a possible presidential signature during the week of August 3. The July 17 hearing is expected to be a critical signal of whether that timeline holds.

Senate passes Housing Act and pushes through CLARITY Act

In a somewhat significant parallel development, the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in an 85-5 vote on June 22 — and tucked inside the housing supply legislation is a provision that bans the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through the end of 2030.

The bill’s language is direct: the Fed “may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary” — through December 31, 2030.

The House had already passed an Anti-CBDC measure alongside its GENIUS Act vote, and an earlier version of the housing legislation cleared the House 390-9 in February. 

House GOP leaders signaled plans for an expedited vote on the Senate-amended bill upon the chamber’s return from recess on June 23. 

With White House backing and near-unanimous Senate support, the CBDC ban now looks likely to reach the president’s desk attached to must-pass housing reform.

Source: BitcoinMagazine